Transitioning to online schooling has been rather interesting for the realm of test taking. Some love the new way we take our tests, others hate it. Either way, I have found some ways  to maximize the efficiency in which you take your tests and earn good grades.

If you are studying for hours on end for a test, stop it. Studying for long hours will only tire your mind and you will not learn any of the material that you are trying to learn. Instead try studying in multiple quick segments spread throughout the day. During these study sessions, use a program like quizlet or get someone else to quiz you since you will learn faster this way than if you were learning from notes.

On to when you are actually taking the test, first thing is to ask your teacher if you can take it before class starts. That way if you have the test later in the day you can get it out of the way and not have to worry about it. You will also be less tired mentally, so the test should be a lot easier on your mind. Having a test at the end of the day always drives me crazy because I have to worry about it all day and after several classes, my mind is not working very well. So go ahead and knock that test out of the way.

When it actually comes time for you to take the test, look over the problems first. If you spot any that look difficult, bypass them and move on to easier ones, then come back and try to finish them. If you don’t, you will spend minutes butting your head against a problem you can’t solve while you leave all the other problems that you can solve sitting there and potentially not being completed.

Another thing is that in the age of digital test taking, we are allowed to use our notes for tests.  But if you find yourself exiting and entering multiple note pages in order to find the equation for one problem, please stop. Doing that will only flood your browser with tabs you do not need. Instead only do the problems that require the same equation first, even if it means you must do the test questions out of order. After you complete the problems requiring that one equation, close out those notes windows and move on to a set of problems that require another equation.

Using these techniques, I have been able to make my test-taking far more efficient. A good example is it used to take me an hour or two to complete a physics test, now I can get them done in 20 minutes. I hope you learn from my tips and go on to become an ace test taker.